Holiday Shoppers Plan Their Clicks And Coupon Clips To Spend More And Purchase Earlier

With a late Thanksgiving and the shortest holiday shopping season in
years, consumers say they’re starting their holiday shopping sooner and
spending more this year, according to the latest
American
Express...

With a late Thanksgiving and the shortest holiday shopping season in years, consumers say they’re starting their holiday shopping sooner and spending more this year, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker. While it’s still not clear how the holiday season will actually play out, consumers say they will expect to spend $1,260 this year, up $400 from last year. Aiming to find the best deals, more than a quarter of Americans say they’ve already started holiday shopping and will finish before December 1 st (27% vs. 24% in 2012), while others expect to finish a week before Christmas (37% vs. 33% in 2012).

“We’re seeing an increased intent to spend among consumers as we head into the critical holiday shopping season, suggesting strong enthusiasm for hitting the aisles this year,” said David Rabkin, SVP of U.S. Consumer Lending Products, American Express. “This is good news for retailers who might be concerned that the shorter shopping season will impact their sales.”

Bargain Battle: Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

For the first time, Cyber Monday is beating out Black Friday as the most popular shopping day, as more consumers (55% vs. 39% in 2012) say they’ll shop the virtual blowout sales instead of fighting the crowds the day after Thanksgiving (52% vs. 45% in 2012).

Although more will shop online, consumers still seek the thrill of the Door Buster Deal, with 58% of Black Friday shoppers saying they’ll hit the stores between 12am and 7am that day, similar to last year. On average, Black Friday shoppers say they’ll splurge 53% more this year, planning to spend $611 on average (up significantly from $398 in 2012). Overall, shoppers will dig deeper into their wallets, as those who plan to spend more than $1,000 on Black Friday has more than doubled since last year (24%). Just under a third (30%) plan to spend between $500 and $999.